Machine for imprinting pencils, &amp;c.



No. 774,822. PATENTED NOV. l5, 1904.

H. G. BIETTE MACHINE FOR IMPRINTING PENGILS, &c. I

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 21, 1904.

no MODEL. 4 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 774,822. PATENTED NOV. 15, 1904.

' I I H. 0. BIET MACHINE FOR IMPRINTI ENOILS! 6w.

No. 774,822. PATENTED NOV. 16, 1904. H. G. BIETTE.

MACHINE FOR IMPRINTING PENOILS, 6w.

APYLIGATION FILED MAY 21. 1904.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

"/fi'Znesse-s mzr a errzfaw Wk WWW 7. v gfi zfolvzqyd No. 774,822.PATENTED NOV. 15, 1904. H. G. BIETTE.

MACHINE FORv IMPRINTING PENGILS,'&c.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1904. N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4..

Ell/676% r v 06 4 jN'o. 774,822.

UNITED STATES Patented. November 15, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY C. BIETTE, OF TORONTO, CANADA. ASSIGNOR TO PRESS NOVELTY COMPANY,OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR IMPRINTING PENCILS, ac.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 774,822, datedNovember 15, 1904.

Application filed May 21, 1904. Serial No. 209,110. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRYO. BIETTE, a subject of the King of England,and a resident of Toronto, inthe Province of Ontario and Dominion ofCanada, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines forImprinting Pencils and Similar Articles, of

which the following is a specification.v

This invention relates to a machine for printing advertisements or otherdesired reading matter upon round lead-pencils, penholders, and similararticles.

The object of my invention is to provide an efficient machine of thischaracter by which advertising or other matter can be cheaply andexpeditiously printed upon different sides of such articles or aroundtheir entire surface, if desired.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of four sheets, Figure 1' is anelevation of one side of the improved machine. Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryelevation of its opposite side. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinalsection of one of the bearings of the adjustable impression-cylinder.Fig. 4C is a top plan view of the machine with the feed-hopper brokenaway. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal central section thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

A is the bed or base plate of the machine, and A A indicate two parallelupright side frames secured to the baseand supporting the various partsof the machine.

B is a horizontal printing-cylinder carrying the printing or impressiondie 6 and suitably journaled in the side frames A A This die bears oneor more lines of characters, according to the desired space to becovered by the printed matter. The printing-cylinder may be driveneither by hand or power, the shaft 6 of this cylinder being thedriving-shaft of the machine. V

C indicates a horizontal impression-cylinder arranged beside theprinting-cylinder and preferably mounted in movable bearing-boxes C, sothat it can be adjusted toward and from the printing-cylinder toaccommodate the opposite direction by adjusting-screws cl pencils orsimilar articles of different diameters. In the preferred constructionshown v in the drawings the bearing-boxes slide in longitudinalguide-slots 0, formed in the side frames A A and are moved away from theprinting-cylinder by springs (Z and shifted in engaging in threadedopenings in the adjacent ends of the side frames and bearing against theouter ends of the boxes, the screws being preferably provided withlock-nuts (Z as shown.

The printing and impression cylinders are driven at the same peripheralspeed and with their opposing sides running in opposite directions, sothat the pencils or similar articles fed between the cylinders arerolled by contact therewith without being subjected to a rubbing action.In the construction shown in the drawings the impression-cylinder isdriven from the printing-cylinder by spurgears e a, secured to theshafts of these cylinders, and an intermediate idler-gear e meshing withboth of said gears; but any other suitablepower-transmitting mechanismmay be employed for this purpose.

While being imprinted the pencils are sustained between the printing andimpression cylinders by rests or supports f, which are arranged tosupport the pencils substantially on a level with the axes of thecylinders or in diametrical alinement therewith, by which arrangementslipping or rubbing r of the pencils against the cylinders is obviated.The pencil-rests f may be of any suitable construction. In the machineshown in the drawings they are formed by the lower ends of verticalslots or channels F, arranged in the side .framesjA A in linev with thespace getween the printing and impression cyliners.

The pencils may be successively fed between the printing and impressioncylinders either by hand or by any suitable mechanical means. I preferto employ for this purposethe automatic feed mechanism illustrated inthe drawings, which is constructed as follows:

G is an elevated feed hopper or box adapted to receive a batch ofpencils and located in I having the usual rubber erasers and providedrear of the printing-cylinder, the same being supported by standards G".The hopper is provided in the lower end of its front wall with ahorizontal discharge-apertu re g, which is just large enough topermitthe escape of one pencil at a time, the bottom of the hopper slopingtoward this aperture and having sufficient pitch to discharge thepencils by gravity. A chute g, extending forwardly and downwardly fromthe opening g and terminating at the lower ends of the channels F,serves to conduct the pencils between the printing and impressioncylinders. One of the side walls of the chute terminates at the upperend of the adjacent channel F, as shown at-y to permit the pencils to bewithdrawn endwise after being printed.

H H represent intermittently-actuated feed- Wheels adapted to interceptthe row of pencils in the delivery-chute and permit the delivery of buta single pencil at a time to the printing-cylinder. These feed-wheelsare mounted on a transverse shaft h, arranged underneath thedischarge-chute g, and are provided with equidistant peripheral teeth orprojections 71 the sides of which are curved to form concave seats orpockets h of the proper size to receive the lower half of a pencil, asshown in Fig. 5. The upper portions of these feed-wheels extend throughlongitudinal slots in the bottom of the chute and project a suiiicientdistance above said bottom to intercept and arrest the row of pencils inthe chute when the wheels are at rest and to carry the foremost pencilof the row forward sufficiently to clear the feed-wheels and allow it todrop into the channels F when the wheels are turned forwardly a step. Anintermittent rotary motion may be imparted to the feed-wheels by anysuitable means; but Iprefer to actuate the same by a radial tappet-armj, secured to the cylinder-shaft b and arranged to engage radial arms orteeth 7', mounted on the feed-shaft 71. This shaft has as many of suchteeth as there are pencil-pockets in the feed-wheels H, and the teethare arranged to be tripped successivcl y by the arm 3', whereby thefeed-wheels are turned the distance of one pocket for every completerotation of the printing-cylinder. wheels H is so timed relatively tothat of the printing-cylinder that the foremost pencil in the chute isreleased by the feed-Wheels and allowed to drop upon the rests f beforethe printing-die b arrives opposite the impressioncylinder. In thismanner the pencils are automatically fed to the printing-cylinder one ata time, and the machine requires no attention on the part of theoperator except to keep the feed-hopper supplied with pencils and removethe printed pencils.

The hopper is preferably made just long enough to receive pencils ofstandard length The motion of the feed.

with a removable partition or false end wall K, which may be placed inthe hopper when short pencils or such as have no 'erasers are to beprinted. This partition may be held in position by any suitable means.

The inking mechanism of the printing-cylinder may be of any well-knownconstruction, that shown in the drawings consisting of an ink-roller L,an ink-fountain M, containing an intermittently-rotated roller M andintermediate transfer and distributing rollers N 0.

When the pencils are imprinted around onehalf or more of their surface,they smut the impression cylinder by rolling in contact therewith. Inorder to avoid transferring to the next pencil the imprint thus receivedby the impression-cylinder, suitable means are provided forautomatically cleaning said cylinder after imprinting each pencil. Thepreferred means shown in the drawings consist of a roller P, having anabsorbent covering which is moistened or saturated with a suitablesolvent and runs in contact with the impression-cylinder, and a bed orblanket P, of suitable absorbent material, which bears against theimpression-roller beyond the solvent-roller P. so as to absorb thesurplus moisture, ink, or size not removed by the solvent-roller andthoroughly clean the surface of said cylinder preparatory to printingthe next pencil. Thecovering of the solventroller may be of felt orother suitable material, and the same may be saturated with turpentine,benzin, gasolene, or other suitable liquid which will dissolve the inkand size deposited upon the impression-cylinder. This solvent-roller isjournaled in the free'end of a pair of supporting-arms q, pivoted tobrackets q on the side frames A A and is yieldingly held against theimpression-cylinder by springs q, attached at their ends to said armsand the side frames, respectively. In order to render the cleaningaction of the solvent-roller more effective, it is driven in thecontrary direction to the impression-cylinder and at a greater speed, sothat it has a rubbing or wiping action. The roller-drive shown in thedrawings consists of a gearwheel (1 secured to the shaft of said roller,and an idler-gear (1, connecting said gearwheel with the gear-wheel onthe shaft of the impression-cylinder.

The cleaning-blanket P may be of linen or other suitable absorbentmaterial and extends around one side of the impression-cylinder,preferably from the top to the bottom thereof, as shown. The blanket iscarried by a supporting block or standard R, arranged on the rear sideof the impressionroller, and its face which forms the backing of theblanket is concave and curved to conform to the cylindrical surface ofthe impression-cylinder. The blanket is removably secured to its supportby any suitable fastening. In the construction shown in the drawings itsupper end overlies a transverse groove 1', formed in the top of thesupport, in Which groove it is .clamped by a plate 1", having adepending rib or flange 7' which forces the blanket into said grooveupon'tightening the plate. This plate is clamped in place bythumb-screws o entering openings in the supporting-block B. As theimpression-cylinder turns toward the lower edge of the cleaning-blanket,said edge may be left unattached, as shown. The supporting-block R ispreferably provided in its face, near the upper end of the blanket,

with one or more transverse grooves or recesses 8, into which theoverlying portions of the blanket may bulge or recede, so as to give theupper portion of the blanket a'corrugated form. In the use of themachine the grit or ing of said cylinder, it is preferably nickeled andhighly polished.

In order to obtain the best results, the blanket P should be yieldinglyheld against the impression-cylinder. For this purpose itssupporting-block R is mounted on a longitudinal slide T, suitably guidedon the baseplate A and constantly urged in the proper direction to pressthe blanket against the impression-cylinder by a spring T, connected atone end to the front side block and at its other end to the base-plate.The supporting-block is preferably capable of turning or swiveling onthe slide T, so that it may adapt itself to the impression-cylinder andhear at all times against the same throughout the width of the blanket.The swiveling connection shown in the drawings consists of an uprightpivot-pin a, mounted on the slide T and entering a socket a, formedcentrally in the bottom of the supporting-block R.

In the operation of the machine the pencils or similar articles to beprinted are automatically fed one at a time to the channels F by thefeed-wheels H, the movement of the parts being so timedv that theprinting-die 6 comes in contact with the pencil immediately after thelatter falls upon the rests f. The impression-cylinder, which hasreceived the imprint from the printed pencil, is-subjected to thecleaning action of the solvent-applying roller P and then to that of theabsorbent blanket P, thereby thoroughly cleaning it before the nextpencil is fed between the same and the of saidsupportingprinting-cylinder and avoiding smutting of the pencil.Immediately after a pencil has been imprinted it is removed to allow thenext pencil to drop upon the rests f.

As my machine is capable of imprinting pencils and similar articlesaround their entire circumference, if desired, it enables such articlesto be furnished with a greater or less number of lines of advertisingmatter at practically no greater cost than that of pencils having but asingle line of reading matter, thus correspondingly enhancing the valueof such articles for advertising purposes.

I claim as my invention 1. In a machine of the character described, thecombination with a printing-cylinder and an impression-cylinder arrangedside by side and adapted to impart a rolling motion to round articlesfed between the same, and a support arranged to sustain said articlessubstantially on a level with the axes of said cylinders, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an impression-cylinder arranged side by side, ofmeans fordriving said cylinders at the same peripheral speed and withtheir opposing sides running in opposite directions, and a support forthe articles to be printed arranged to sustain the same substantiallyon. a level with the axes of said cylinders, substantially as set forth.i

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an impression-cylinder arranged side by side, theimpression-cylinder being movable toward and from the printing-cylinder,of a spring for moving the impression-cylinder away from theprinting-cylinder, an adjusting device for shifting said cylinder towardthe printingcylinder, and means for driving said cylinders at the sameperipheral speed and with their opposing sides running in oppositedirections, substantially as set forth.

4:. In a machine of the character described. the combination with a pairof side frames and printing and impression cylinders journaled side byside in said frames, said frames being provided with channels which leadto the space between said cylinders and the lower ends of which formrests for the articles to be printed, of means for driving saidcylinders at the same peripheral speed and with their opposing sidesrunning in opposite directions, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of an automatic cleanerfor removing from the impression-cylinder the imprint received from theprinted article, substantially as set forth.

6. In a machine of the character described,

the combination with a printing-cylinder and an opposingimpression-cylinder adapted to roll a round pencil or similar articlebetween them, of means for applying a solvent to theimpression-cylinder, and means for cleaning the said cylinder arrangedbeyond said solventapplying means, substantially as set forth.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a roller bearingagainst said impression-cylinder and adapted to apply a solvent thereto,and means for yiel'dingly holding said roller in contact with theimpression-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprintingcylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a solvent-applyingroller running in contact with said impression-cylinder, and means fordriving said roller at a different speed from that of theimpression-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a solvent-applyingroller running in contact with said impression-cylinder, and means fordriving said roller in a contrary direction to the impression-cylinderand at a greaterspeed than said cylinder, substantially as set forth.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of an absorbent rollerbearing against the impression-cylinder and adapted to apply 7 a solventthereto, pivoted arms carrying said roller, and a spring tending to holdthe roller against the impression-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of an absorbent blanketbearing against the impression-cylinder for cleaning the same,substantially as set forth.

12. In a machine of the character described, the combination withaprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a support arrangedadjacent to the impression-cylinder and having a concave face conformingthereto, and a cleaning-blanket seated against said concave face andbearing against the impression-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

13. In a machine of the character described,

the combination with a printing-cylinder and an opposingimpression-cylinder adapted to roll a round pencil or similar articlebetween them, of a support movable toward and from theimpression-cylinder and having a concave face conforming thereto, acleaning-blanket seated against said concave face and bearing againstthe impression-cylinder, and a spring tending to move said supporttoward the impression-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

14:. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a support arrangedadjacent to the impression-cylinder and having a concave face conformingthereto, and a corrugated cleaning-blanket interposed between saidconcave face and the impression-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

15. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and. an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a support arrangedadjacent to the impression-cylinder and having a concave face conformingthereto, said face having transverse grooves or recesses, and acleaningblanket interposed between said concave face and theimpression-cylinder and adapted to enter said grooves, substantially asset forth.

16. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil -or similar article between them, of a support arrangedadjacent to the impression-cylinder, a cleaning-blanket interposedbetween said support and the impression-cylinder, and means forremovably securing the upper end of said blanket to said support,substantially as set forth.

17. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a support arrangedadjacent to the im1')ression-cylinder and provided in its top with agroove, a cleaning-blanket overlying said groove and interposed betweensaid support and the impression-cylinder, and a clamping-plate having arib which forces the blanket into said groove, substantially as setforth.

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to roll around pencil or similar article between them, of a swiveling supportarranged adjacent to the impression-cylinder, and a cleaning-blanketbacked by said support and bearing against the impression-cylinder,substantially as set forth.

19. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aprinting-cylinder and an opposing impression-cylinder adapted to tendingto move said support toward the im- 10 roll a round pencil or similararticle between pression-cylinder, substantially as set forth. them, ofa slide movable crosswise of the im- Witness my hand this 11th day ofMay, pression-cylinder, a support mounted on said 1904..

5 slide adjacent to the impression-cylinder and ,capable of swiveling onthe slide, said sup- HENRY BIETIE' port having a concave face, acleaning-blanket Witnesses: backed by said concave face and bearing C.F. GEYER,

against the impression-cylinder, and a spring E. M. GRAHAM:

